Machine for the pickling of grain



F. H. MCCORMICK ET AL MACHINE FOR THE PICKLING 0F GRAIN Filed April 21, 1926 Dec. 18, 1928.

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Patented Dec. 18, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF ICE.

FRANCLS HENRY MCCORMICK VA1\l'Dl'A]llIES PATRICK DWYER, OF PERTH, `WES'JIIJIIEtN h AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA.

f FOR THE PICKLING OF GRAIN.

Application med Apriizi, 192e, seriiiwo. 103,587, and in Australia' November 2a, 1925.

This invention relates to a machine either for the dry or wet pickling of grain and whereby such pickling is performed in a free and continuous manner so that the pickling agent is caused to intimately adhere to each grain. The chief structural feature of the, invention in its preferred form consists of a rotatable chamber held within a tight sealed and `dust proof casing, l said chamber having a convoluted `wall which, for portion of its length, is solid and the remaining portion is perforated o r made of meshed material... The grain with the pickling agentis caused to pass through the passage formed by said wall yduring the .ro-

tation of the chamber to` effect the pickling operation. The grain is fed from a hopper through an inlet inthe casing and a peripheral opening in the chamber and discharged through one end of a hollowfhub Within which is mounted a spiral blade. As an alternative construction of said chamber the `walls may be arranged concentrically and be of a circular, hexagonal or other 254 form; A further structural `feature resides in the means employed for feeding the picklng agent in an intermittent and adjustable manner so that each oncoming body ot grain punctually receives its predetermined nant-ity of pickling agent. Theseand other critures, together. with the operation of the machine, will now be described with the aid of the attached drawings wherein Fig. l is a side sectional elevation of one Aembodiment of theinvention. `Fi 2 is an end sectional view of samefrom W ich the hopper and operative members for the pickling agent are omitted. is an enlared sectional View ofthe i opper and meclhanism for the feed' of `the pickling agent. Fig. 47h is al sectional View on line 7-.7 of Fig. 3. Fig.. 5 is an enlarged view showing the cam drive for the feed mechanism. Fig. 6 is aside sectional view of an alternative construction of the pickling chamber whereinthe walls are of a concentric circular form.. In Fi s. 1 and' 3 the bevel gear of the pickling o per is omitted for sake of clearness. vRe erriug` to said drawings.

The machine is mounted on a frame wand 5 tact with the interior of the casing. A spiral blade 712 vis mounted in the hollow hub b1 and one end of said huh is closedandof reduced diameter. The reduced end of the hub b1 is secured to a shaft b3, rotatin in an end bearing 724. The shaft 3 is provided with a handle Zf'whereby the machine is rotated orsame may be vrotated by motive p ower. This hollow hub at its other or open end rotates in the bearing bf". Between the two cheeks of the chamber b is secured a convoluted wall which for portion as 0 of its length is solid and of which the remaining portion c1 is of a perforated or meshed format-ion. 'This convoluted wall o-o1 has one end connected to the hollow hub b? and the passageway formed by the convolutions communicates with the interior. of the hub b1 through an opening in the periphery of the latter. The open end of the hub, b1 eX- tends into a hood c3 carried by the casing g1 and towhich a bag (not shown) may be attached for the reception of the pickled grain. The convoluted wall @-01 is pro-V vided with transverse ripples or corrugations Z whose purpose is to cause an agitation of the grain and pickling agent yduring `the. pickling operation. A hopper e lhaving an inclined bottom f and provided with a vertically slidable door el formed with exit port e2 is connected` to an inlet in the periphery of the casing g1 through which the grain is fed to the open end of the convoluted passageway of the chamber I), the area of discharge for said grain being adjusted by raising or lowering saidV door el. The grain descends from the hopper e to a low position within the casingg1 and, when the chamber is rotated, the grain enters same through the open end of the convoluted passageway chamber b when said open end registers with the grain inlet of the casing g1 as seen in Fig. 1. The dry pickling agent is delivered from thehopper g located at a high position on the tight sealed and dustdprooftcasing g1 to the pickling agent inlet of the casing g1. through a pipe g2. At a low position the casing g1 has an opening closed by a door g3 through which opening the excess pickling agent is removed. lA star-shaped wheel j in the lower part of thehopper g is the vertical spindle 7'1 which is rotated through a pair of bevel wheels j2-j3, one of which ja1 is keyed on the horizontal spindle j@ working in bracketbearings On this spindle jt as seen` in Fig. 4 is coiled a spiral spring c has an i its opposite ends bearing against the wheel jf5 and one of the bearings 75, the object of this spring being to check any return movement of the spindle j4 and resultant excess Jeed of the pickling agent. On the outer end of said spindle is keyed a ratchet wheel m receiving motion through forked arm 712.1 hinged on spindle j and having thereon a pivoted drop pawl n which, when it is desired to stop the feed ot the pickling agent, is lifted out of engagement with said ratchet wheel and held by bridle al hinged on said arm m1. A spiral spring Whose function is to return the arm m1 to its normal or idle position is connected to the hopper g and arm m1. This arm m1 is formed along its length with any number of holes m2 whereby one end of the actuating rod p may be hingably and adjustably connected to said arm. The other end of said rod is hingably and adjustably attached to arm p1 pivotally car ried on the fra-me a and formed along its length with adjustment holes p2 for said rod. The object of forming each of said arms 1HE-p1 with holes is to provide means for a more delicate adjustment of the feed of the pickling agent. The arm p1 is intermittently rocked by a driving cam r keyed on the shaft b. An alternative construction 'of the pickling chamber is shown in Fig. 6 wherein the walls g/--g/1 of the chamber are of cylindrical form and arranged coneentrically and iorin between them passages through which the grain and pickling agent travels, said passages communicating with each other through peripheral openings y2 and communicating with the central hub y by the opening y* in the periphery of the hub. Adjacent to each of the openings g/2 is positioned a transverse baille gf" which causes the grain and pickling agent to pass through said openings.

The outer wall y is solid except for an inlet y for the grain and pickling agent and the interiors of the walls are provided with ripples ai.

The manner of using the machine is as followsr- Assume that the unpickled grain and pickling agent are placed in their respective hoppers as e and g and that the rod p is adjusted in the holes Imil-p2 of the arms m1 and p1 so as to determine the proportion of pickling agent to the feed of the grain.

The chamber b is now rotated by handle b" and at each rotation the mouth of said chamber registers with the mouth of the grain hopper c consequently allowing a certain' quantity of grain to enter the outer passage of chamber I), and said mouth, at each rotation, also registers with the mouth oi the feed pipe g1 from the pickling agent hopper g. During said rotation the grain and pickling agent b come intimately mixed during-their travel through the passages between the walls c-o1 of the chamber until the pickled grain is 'finally discharged through the hub b1 and hood c into a bag or other receiver. During the rotation ol said chamber I) the cam r makes intermittent contact against the arm p1 and through rod y) and associated members an intermittent rotary motion is imparted to the star wheel j for the feed of the pickling agent.

Then a wet method of pickling is employed the feed mechanism oi the pickling agent is disengaged as above mentioned and the pickling solution is placed in the chamber Z) which is rotated as above described in order to eii'ect the pickling operation.

iVhat we claim as our invention and desire to obtain Letters Patent, isf

l. An apparatus for pickling grain, comprising a easing having an inlet opening for grain adjacent its lower portion and having an inlet opening for pickling agent at its upper portion, a hollow hub extending lengthwise of said casing and rotatable in the latter, said hub having an opening in its periphery and having one end open and its other end closed, a chamber surrounding said hub and rotatable therewith, said chamber having an opening in its wall adapted, during the rotation of said chamber to successively register with the grain and pickling agent inlets of said casing.

2. An apparatus according to claim l wherein a spiral blade is mounted in the holl low hub.

3. An apparatus accordiner to claim l wherein the casing is of cylindrical form and the exterior of the chamber is also of cylindrical form and lits closely against the interior of the casing. n

4. An apparatus according to claim l wherein the chamber is provided on its interior with means adapted during the rotation of said chamber to mix grain and pickling agent delivered to said chamber through the opening in its wall and move said mixed grain and pickling avent toward the peripheral opening of the liollow hub.

5. An apparatus according to claim `l wherein a grain delivery hopper having an inclined bottom is connected to the rain inlet of the casing and having means or regnla-ting the rate of delivery of grain fromy said hopper to said casing.

(i. An apparatus according to claim l wherein a hopper to contain pickling agent is connected to the pickling agent-y inlct ot the easing and means associated with said hopper and actuated by the rotation of the hollow hub controls the rate of delivery of pickling agent from said hopper to said pickling agent inlet.

7. An apparatus according to claim 'l comprising a hopper to contain pickling agent connectedto the pickling agent inlet of the casing, means in said hopper for conill) nin

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trolling the rate of delivery of pickling agent From the hopper to the pickling agent inlet of the casing, means intermittently actuated by the rotation of the hub for operating said controlling means, and means for adjusting said intermittently operated means for regulating the operation of said controlling means in timed relation to the registration of the opening in the Wall of the chamber with the grain inlet of the casino'.

l. An apparatus for pickling grain, comprising a substantially cylindrical casing having closed end Walls and having in` its periphery a grain inlet and a pickling agent inlet spaced apart from one another, a hollow hub rotatable in said casing coaxially With the latter, said hub having one end closed and having its other end open and extending through an end Wall of the casing,

said hub also having an opening in its periphery, and a chamber rotatable in said casing Withsaid hub, said chamber comprising end Walls and a strip having its Side edges connected to said end walls and one of its end edges connected to said hub and being Wound around said hub to form spaced convolutions with its outer convolution in close proximity to the interior of theV casing and having its outer end edge spaced from its outer convolution to form an inlet to the space between said convolutions, said inlet, during the rotation of said chamber, alternately registering with the grain` inlet and thepickling agent inlet of said casing.

In testimony whereofvr we have hereunto set our hands. v 1

FRANCIS HENRY MCCORMICK. JAMES PATRICK DWYER. l 

